Friday, September 16, 2011

Visit to Lerøy salmon farm

One of the most interesting aspects of the trip thus far has been a visit to a salmon farm operated by the company Lerøy Seafood Group.

A salmon cage pen. The net on over the top prevents birds from eating the salmon.


Barge where staff monitor the salmon and dispense feed.

Staff monitor the salmon every day. They use cameras to monitor the fish's behavior for stress, identify disease and optimize feeding. They also monitor the nets for any wholes. Finally, they dispense feed with the computer system.

Michelle Cho (New England Aquarium) and I stand on the walk way around the salmon cage with a staff member who explained various features of the cage. Working at a salmon farm is seen as a fairly attractive job in Norway.

Salmon feed.

1 comment:

  1. The last news from the Norwegian Institute for Marine Research: The sea lice infection on sea trout and salmon smolt is worse than ever:
    http://www.imr.no/nyhetsarkiv/2011/september/sjoorret_hardt_rammet_av_lakselus/nb-no

    The ASC-standard for open net cages will not change this ecological disaster, the WWF initiative is only delaying the shift to closed containment pushed by economically independent Norwegian environment organizations and some green political parties.

    And when I see the host list, I am sure that you were not told one single word about the pollution caused by salmon feed leakage, and how this has reduced the quality on especially saithe with negative economical consequences for the coastal fishermen.

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